View full sizeSix-year-old Cameron Bell of Hillsboro became Washington County's first homicide victim of 2011 when he was shot March 1 by his father, Charles Bell, who then killed himself.

The
number of homicides in Washington County dipped below average in 2011
with a total of seven killings, two of which remain unsolved.

Since
2000, the county has averaged about nine homicides a year, including in
2010. Authorities don't attribute the year's slight decrease to
anything specific but say they're glad to see the numbers down.

"Like
every year, there's always something new and different," said Bob
Hermann, Washington County district attorney. "In terms of the quote
'traditional homicide,' it's been refreshingly lower this year."

Usually,
the county has more homicides that involve family members or domestic
partners as opposed to other types of killings, Hermann said. Four of
this year's homicides were domestic-related, following five
domestic-related slayings in 2010.

Two others turned into
manslaughter cases: A Forest Grove teenager shot and killed his friend
while playing with a gun and a Beaverton man inadvertently shot another
during a struggle.

"We don't have that many reckless or accidental gun-related deaths, so that's kind of high," Hermann said.

In
addition to the teen shot accidentally by his friend, three children
were victims in 2011. Police say a Hillsboro father shot and killed his
6-year-old son before taking his own life. A Sherwood mother is accused
of strangling her 11-year-old daughter. A Metzger father is accused of
shaking his infant son to death.

In 2010, no children were homicide victims.

Beaverton
Police Detective Sgt. Jim Shumway, who coordinates the county's Major
Crimes Team, says investigators can't explain the increase. "It's really
just chalked up to be random," he said. "They are all very unique
incidents."

Police have not given details about the two unsolved
cases, involving the deaths of Luis Manuel Guzman, 28, and Raymond
Lloyd Faulk, 63. Both happened in November in Forest Grove, but police
say they are unrelated. Providing additional information, authorities
maintain, would compromise the investigations.

Guzman's shooting
death is classified as gang-related, according to data from the Major
Crimes Team. But Capt. Mike Herb, a Forest Grove police spokesman, said
investigators are still working with the county's gang team to make that
determination.

No details -- including cause of death -- have
been released about Faulk's killing. He was found dead inside his home
after police were called to check on him.

Though no arrests have
been made in either slaying, authorities say they are confident
detectives will solve both. Of the 103 homicides that have occurred
since 2000 in Washington County, only seven -- including the Faulk and
Guzman cases -- are unsolved.

Three of the year's homicides occurred in Forest Grove, in just over a two-month period.

"I
cannot remember a time, ever, that we would have had three separate
incidents of homicide in a year," said Herb, who oversees the
department's detective unit. Since 2000, Forest Grove has averaged about
one homicide a year.

Although the county has fewer gang-related
homicides than neighboring Multnomah County, Hermann said, there were a
number of gang-related, nonfatal shootings and stabbings in 2011.

"It's
not for a lack of trying in the incident itself," Hermann said. "It's
just dumb luck that the bullet wound or stab wound wasn't fatal."

The seven Washington County homicides from 2011:

Cameron Bell, 6, was fatally shot in the head by his father, Charles Bell, on March 1. Bell, 54, then fatally shot himself, according to Hillsboro police.

He had picked his son up at Ladd Acres Elementary School that morning; about 4:30 p.m., someone reported two bodies in a field near a church at 5580 S.E. Golden Road.

Police found Bell's vehicle in the church parking lot and the bodies about 30 yards away. Detectives found a .40-caliber handgun and two expended rounds nearby.

Phillip Wilson,31, was shot in the head April 18 during a struggle at a Beaverton residence on Southwest 117th Avenue and died two days later.

Investigators determined that Darrell Dean Laffoon, 61, drew his handgun in an attempt to stop a fight between Wilson and his brother, Preston, 36. The men reportedly had been drinking. During a struggle, the gun fired, striking Phillip Wilson in the head and Preston Wilson in the finger, police said.

Laffoon faces second-degree manslaughter and other charges. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 7.

Cecilia Buckley, 11, was strangled June 2 in her Sherwood home by her mother, according to police. Emergency personnel found the girl inside the home on Southwest Galewood Drive and took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The girl's mother, Kristina Buckley, 39, was hospitalized for treatment of self-inflicted injuries. Buckley's husband told investigators his wife had a "psychotic episode" days before Cecilia's death, according to court records.

Buckley faces one count of aggravated murder; her trial is scheduled Oct. 9.

Bryan Mansor,11 weeks old, was shaken and hit by his father after the infant began coughing during a feeding on June 12, according to court records. Kaliq Michael Mansor, 34, of Metzger has been charged in his son's death and an assault on the child's twin brother, Ethan.

Mansor called 9-1-1 to report the baby wasn't breathing, court records say. Mansor told a detective that when Bryan started coughing and expelling a brown liquid from his nose during feeding, he turned the baby over, shook him and smacked him on the back, records say.

Doctors reportedly determined that medical intervention could not help
the baby, who died June 13. Mansor faces a 10-count indictment,
including charges of murder by abuse; his trial is scheduled Sept. 11.

The two were horsing around with a short-barreled shotgun at Ward's home on Poplar Place in Forest Grove. Intending to scare Lester, Ward loaded a shell into the shotgun's barrel, which he thought didn't work, authorities say. When he put the gun to the back of Lester's head, it went off.

Ward was indicted on a charge of second-degree manslaughter, but pleaded guilty on Dec. 1 to criminally negligent homicide with a firearm, and was sentenced to four years in prison.

His father, James Dale Ward, who owned the shotgun, pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to one count of unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun. He was sentenced to probation.

Luis Manuel Guzman, 28, was fatally shot Nov. 14 in Forest Grove. Just after 10 p.m., a caller reported gunshots on B Street and seeing a man down in front of a fourplex.

Guzman's death is gang-related, according to data from the Washington County Major Crimes Team, but Forest Grove police say they are still investigating with the county's gang team to make that determination. No arrests have been made.

Raymond Lloyd Faulk,63, died of "homicidal violence" at his Forest Grove home. Just before 12:45 p.m. Nov. 27, Forest Grove officers were called to Faulk's 17th Avenue home to check on him, after a friend reported that Faulk hadn't been seen or heard from in several days.

Officers found Faulk dead inside. His cause of death has not been released and no arrests have been made.